Stolen
by A Pen and a Piece of Mind
Summary: Jack looked at her as he did every morning and, just as he was every morning, found himself lost in the green of her eyes.


_I don't own "Lost" and I never did._

They slept soundly in their beds while the sun rose and shone through the bedroom window. It took a minute for the alarm to sound. And while it wasn't the annoying beeping of an alarm, it sure was enough to wake Jack and Kate from sleep.

The small cries over the monitor made Kate stir and smile at the same time. It felt good to wake up to routine. Everyday she wondered how she had been so lucky. In all her life, she had never pictured this being what she would be awarded for all the things she had done. Awarded she was, none-the-less and acquitted as well. Probation for evading the police, but that wasn't anything to be feared. All it meant was no moving from L.A. and checking in with her probation officer once a week until the five years were over.

So far two years had passed and with them came marriage and a little girl named Samantha.

Jack turned over as the crying continued. He opened his eyes a little and saw Kate still half asleep.

"Are you going to get her or are you going to just let her cry?" Jack asked opening his eyes fully to see hers still closed.

"It's your turn," She told him opening her eyes and turning to face him.

_We watched the season pull up its own stakes,  
and catch the last weekend of the last week._

Jack looked at her as he did every morning and, just as he was every morning, found himself lost in the green of her eyes. He laid there for the few minutes before she actually got out of bed just staring at her and taking her in. She was much happier now and he loved that he had made her that way.

He would never fix her completely or erase all the things that had happened in her life, but somehow that made him cherish her even more. He helped ease the pain, not erase it and that was better than taking it away. She fixed him a little each day while he fixed her a little each day as well.

They would never be unbroken, their picture frame would always be cracked, but together, they slowly put the pieces back to make an image that was better than perfect. That image came in the form of their daughter.

_Before the gold and the glamor have been replaced,  
another sun-soaked season fades away._

Kate smiled at Jack who gave her the same morning kiss he gave her every day. Each day, however, it was different and just as mesmerizing as the first. Kate got out of bed to get Sam.

"I thought it was my turn," Jack joked lightly with a smile.

"I've changed my mind." Kate smiled and left the room.

_You have stolen my heart._

Jack shut his eyes for a few minutes. The hospital shift the night before had been a long one. He didn't mind the work so much anymore. Being the famous, island survivor, spinal surgeon he was; he got to pick and choose his shifts. This way, he had plenty of time to spend with his family. Jack usually tried to work at least three times in the week and was on call at least two nights out of the week.

Kate didn't mind the occasional Jack-less time, but if he worked any more she wouldn't know what to do with herself. She had Sam, and the time she spent with her daughter was the best time of her life. But it was so much better with Jack around. Everything was better and Sam felt that too.

_You have stolen my heart._

Jack heard Kate calm down their daughter and he smiled. The way she said her words, the smile he knew was on her lips, the way she was holding Sam, he knew it all and still she was unpredictable.

Jack remembered the wedding well. Everyone had come, even Sawyer who had graciously let go. He wasn't sarcastic but sincere when he gave Jack his blessing.

At the end of the reception Sawyer called an old friend he hadn't spoken to in a while; at least not since he had left prison.

Charlie, Claire, and Aaron were there. The icon for a real family. Aaron said his first word that night as well. "Dada." And Claire never corrected him, because Charlie was Aaron's father no matter what blood said.

_Invitation only, grant farewells,  
crushed the best one of the best ones._

It was a summer wedding held in Los Angeles the same night a documentary about the island aired. Nobody who had lived it watched the documentary, and they hadn't given any interviews. What happened was their business but still the world wanted to know.

Each survivor received compensation for the accident but nobody really cared about the money and the money Hurley owed Kate for the golf game paid for the lawyer that managed her acquittal.

Naturally, the reception, wedding, and events after the island was enough reason to celebrate.

_Clear liquor and cloudy eye,  
too early to say goodnight._

Everyone danced and partied, leaving one by one as they became tired out. Jack and Kate didn't sleep that night, but then again they didn't have much reason to, leading some to eventually figure out the origins of Samantha Diane Shephard.

Jack and Kate were still newlyweds when Sam was born, but it felt like they had been together their entire lives. It was somewhat sappy to think they were made for each other or that fate had intervened the day of the crash, but there was really no other way to explain their instant relationship or the fact that every survivor was happier because of the crash.

The Shephards knew this feeling well.

_You have stolen my heart._

Kate bounced Sam a little as she held her daughter close. This calmed the infant down to quiet murmurs of happiness. Kate smiled as she looked at Sam. The little girl had the same green eyes as Kate and she had a tiny head of dark brown curls. Her hair was wispy and fresh, but it would be thicker later when she was older. Kate liked to put it in pigtails because it was just long enough for the tiny hair ties.

Kate smiled and took Sam into the hallway as she began to walk back to the room.

_You have stolen my heart._

Kate remembered the day she had found out she was pregnant. It was a week after they had gotten back from their honeymoon that she started getting moody and nauseous at all random times of the day. At first she thought she had a stomach bug, but it was consistent with the time and while Jack had never asked her about whether or not she thought she was, Kate knew he had thought about it.

So she had taken the test and it was positive. She was scared, of course, and Jack had been too. They didn't want to screw their kid up like they had been screwed up. However, they weren't their parents and there were no regrets in the child they had now.

They were both good parents, and even if they doubted that in themselves, one never doubted it about the other.

_And from the ballroom floor we are in celebration,  
one good stretch before our hibernation._

Samantha made her usual tiny noises down the hallway, happy that someone had taken her out of her prison of a crib. She loved it because it had all the things she liked. The baby "Finding Nemo" fish tank with the buttons that would make it light up, the fish move, and play a song. She had a mobile above her bed with airplanes that played "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" which would repeat until Jack or Kate turned it off because they were annoyed with the song. There was a stuffed polar bear, a blue blanket, and a tiny toy plane, kept on top of the dresser and away from her mouth, but still there.

Sam also hated it because she was away from her parents and that didn't make her as happy as the other things did when her parents were in the room.

Kate held Sam when they walked into the sunny bedroom.

"Oh, you did not fall back asleep," Kate said loudly and Jack tried not to smile but ended up failing in that mission.

_Our dreams assured,  
and we all,  
we'll sleep well._

Kate sat on her side of the bed and placed Sam down. The baby girl crawled across the blankets and onto Jack's stomach. She made a noise and poked her tiny finger lightly onto his eyelid, then she pulled it away and laughed. Jack laughed and opened his eyes causing Sam to smile. Kate laughed and laid down close to Jack as Samantha sat on his stomach.

He held her small hands and played with them while she laughed her small laugh. Kate stared at the interaction and wondered why they had been so worried about their kids. So far, this seemed perfect and she knew or rather, hoped with all the hope she had, it would stay this way.

She shut her eyes for a minute, still feeling a little tired as she had waited up for Jack to come home.

_Sleep well, sleep well, sleep well, sleep well._

Jack looked at her as she drifted in and out of a light sleep. He liked to watch her sleep. She looked completely contradictory that way than she had when he had first met her, and he loved that.

He loved knowing all the little things about her. He loved knowing that she'd rather watch "Fight Club" over "Titanic" and that she was just as happy staying home and eating pizza than going out to some fancy Italian restaurant with the greatest chicken Parmesan this close to Italy itself.

He loved her and it would always stay that way, this he knew for sure even when the future was uncertain.

_You have stolen my, you have stolen, you have stolen my heart._

Jack looked at their closet behind her and saw the same dress Kate had worn the night she told him she was pregnant. He remembered that night clearly, just as he remembered the day he met her clearly. The story he told her and the counting, it was all so clear.

He remembered the next little thing about her at that moment. She preferred a shoe she could move in over high heels but he knew she looked great in whatever she wore whether it was heels or sneakers.

_Watch you spin around in your highest heels,  
you are the best one of the best ones._

He looked back at her and smiled as she opened her eyes again, blinking back the haze of light sleep. She smiled when she looked at him smiling at her.

_We all look like we feel._

She looked at Samantha who was still content with sitting on her father's stomach and playing with her hands.

Jack put his arm around her as Samantha crawled towards her mother.

"I love you," Jack said as he gently kissed her.

"I love you too," Kate said back as Sam crawled across her mother's stomach.

"And I love you too, baby girl." Kate grabbed Samantha and pulled her back so she laid in between Jack and Kate. Sam laughed and crawled away again, only to have the action repeated with the same laugh heard in the room.

_You have stolen my, you have stolen my, you have stolen my heart._

They all deserved the life they had now and in the long run, everything was worth it in the end. Whether it was fate or not, they were happy.

**It's like one day you realize that the fairy tale may be slightly different than you dreamed. The castle, well, it may not be a castle. And it's not so important, happily ever after, just that its happy right now. - Grey's Anatomy**

_"Stolen" - Dashboard Confessional_


End file.
